The Guardian | M Kenyon
Amid predictions of a big parliamentary revolt and wild speculation that the vote could even be pulled, it is worth thinking about how Labour’s collective belief in the dignity of labour regularly curdles into two toxic ways of thinking. One is a belief that paid employment is the only reliable gauge of people’s esteem; the other is a queasiness about disability that sometimes lurks just below the surface. There is also an apparently desperate need to counter any suggestion that Labour ministers are liberal fainthearts. In March, the justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, offered a curt explanation of why the government was set on its plan: “This is the Labour party. The clue is in the name. We believe in work.”